Pakistan Tourism Summit: Absence of local vloggers irks netizens

On Wednesday, Prime Imran Khan had met several international travel bloggers and social media influencers in a two-day Pakistan Tourism Summit organized in Islamabad on 2nd and 3rd April. Amongst the international travel bloggers were Trevor James, Mark Wiens, Eva zu Beck, Rosie Gabrielle, Alex Reynolds, and Amel Lamloum that were invited to meet Prime Minister Imran Khan and speak on the summit.

The meeting of Prime Minister Imran Khan with the international travel bloggers was scheduled on the second day of the Pakistan Tourism Summit. In his meeting with the international travel bloggers, Prime Minister Khan briefed them about the potential of the tourism in upper Northern areas of Pakistan and the undiscovered landscape and century-old civilizations in Karakoram region.

The Pakistani travel bloggers have protested on social media and asked provincial minister Atif Khan for ignoring them. The provincial minister is, however, yet to respond to the critics.

Atif Khan, senior Provincial Minister for Tourism, Youth, Culture and Archaeology Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was seen promoting the meeting of international travel bloggers with Prime Minister Imran Khan on his official Instagram account.

Meanwhile, the local travel bloggers have expressed their disgust for not being invited to be a part of the Pakistan Tourism Summit. The Pakistani travel bloggers have protested on social media and asked provincial minister Atif Khan for ignoring them. The provincial minister is, however, yet to respond to the critics.

Even a foreign travel blogger attendee noted this and expressed the concerns in the Instagram post.

“It’s really concerning to me that in a country of 200 million people not a single local travel influencer is being featured in this summit. I humbly request that Atif Khan and others start giving local talent the support they deserve. There is no one better suited to create content that communicates the wonders of Pakistan than its own photographers, vloggers, bloggers” read Alex’s post.

Eva zu Beck also posted her grievances on Instagram, “There’s been some conversation about local influencers not being included in this event. I do agree that more should have been included.”

Meanwhile, various panel discussions and arguments held suggested that Pakistan tourism industry needs to make several structural changes to come to par with international standards. The speakers suggested having tour guides, hospitality staff, and drivers to aid tourists in Pakistan.

Global Village Space is a news web portal that aims to provide a platform to all to promote dialogue and understanding. The portal will present all shades of opinion to enhance understanding. We encourage our writers to be respectfully irreverent and our readers to be tolerant.